


Goddamn Arms Race

by LastofMe



Series: Comparing Your Past To My Future [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Fall Out Boy
Genre: Implied Romance, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-30
Updated: 2015-07-30
Packaged: 2018-04-12 03:59:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4464647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LastofMe/pseuds/LastofMe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor and Andy handle interstellar politics</p>
            </blockquote>





	Goddamn Arms Race

Andy groaned as he rolled around in his sleeping bag, trying to get comfortable on the thin hotel carpet. _If I had been driving, we would have been here on time._ But he had needed a nap and Pete said he knew where he was going and even if Patrick had told him that he was going the wrong way, they still would have been late. Andy chuckled as he thought about shy, little Patrick trying to show Pete the map for the umpteenth time as Pete barreled around another hairpin turn and Joe snored against the glass. He loved it when Patrick navigated for him, tugging on his sleeve when he needed to take a turn, exit or bathroom break. _Sometimes I love it when the bus breaks down._ They had arrived at the hotel only to find that their rooms had been given away and the last one left had two twin beds. And there were no cots left …

Joe had a bed all to himself because he sprawled out and snored like a chainsaw. The last time Joe and Andy had been forced to share a bed, Andy had woke up with a face full of Joe’s hair and it had taken three pots of English Breakfast tea and one of Patrick’s backrubs to get the cigarette smell out of his nose. Pete and Patrick slept on opposite sides, Pete liked the left and Patrick the right. The duvet was pulled tight across the bed as both rolled around their respective sides. Andy had secretly hoped that Pete would draw the short straw and have to sleep on the floor, because Patrick snuggled like a heat-seeking missile if you let him, but tonight was not Andy’s night.

As he tossed and turned, a familiar whooshing noise and flash of light came from the little balcony. Andy could hardly believe what he was seeing as the blue box materialized and he flipped on his chest as the raggedy Doctor leapt out. He pointed his sonic at the screen door which slid open easily.

“ Oh good, scribbled-on man! You’re still awake! Come on! Let’s go!”

“Wait… what?” Andy didn’t know if he was dreaming still.

The Doctor looked over at Patrick’s sleeping face, smiling in his dream and looked almost forlorn before he snapped back to his giddy self and a confused Andy. “Nope, you’re the only one who will do! We must be on our way! You can bring your fuzzy too if you like!”

Andy realized that he was still holding his floppy teddy bear. It had been a gift from Patrick after his old one had vanished somewhere in central Europe. “Is Patrick safe?”

“He’s the safest man in the universe. Besides the bluebirds would tell me if anything was wrong. And if he was in my place right now, you’d be the only one he wanted too. Come, I have a cot so you can kip while we go.”

Andy sighed. _I’m going to regret this aren’t I?_ But still he boarded the TARDIS. True to his word, there was a cot in the control room and he settled in as the Doctor threw the box into gear. He woke what felt like a few hours later to the Doctor poking at his arms and examining his many tattoos.

“Why are you looking at my tattoos?”

“I’m figuring out your best armament. I’d stick with the snake myself; those masks fell out of favor two dynasties ago.”

“But why are you touching me?”

“The planet we are headed to is called Konar. Its most distinguishing characteristic is that the warrior class of its residents gets themselves all scribbled on as some sort of training regimen and they can make their scribbles come to life as weapons. Now I need to have a discussion with their king concerning a strange bit of technology they have on loan from the neighboring system of Milvar, which Milvar is in desperate need of. But I, having no scribbles, cannot meet with the king, but if I have a scribbled on bodyguard, I may be able to.”

“So I’m a bargaining chip for diplomacy?”

“Precisely! Oh scribbled on man! I knew you were the bright one!”

“Its Andy.”

“Yes, yes of course it is!” He threw a turtleneck from across the control room. “Be a good chap and pop this on before we land.”

Andy stared at the crumpled fabric in his hands. He hadn’t worn a turtleneck since he was six and his mother had taken him to get his picture taken at the department store and this one seemed way too small. “Why do I have to wear this this?”

The Doctor looked at him both amused and horrified that someone wouldn’t take his good advice. “See! This is what I like about you! Always asking questions and taking nothing at its face! A public scribble is asking for a fight. So I better get you some gloves and real pants as well, huh?”

Andy scowled to himself as he got dressed. _Patrick, Patrick, Patrick. I’m doing this so Patrick doesn’t have to be involved. Box man gets his trinket and no one will know I’ve been gone. And no one will see this outfit…_

As soon as Andy was properly attired, the Doctor landed the TARDIS and threw open the doors with a flourish. They had landed adjacent to what appeared to be a market square. Andy needed a few minutes to get his bearings. This definitely isn’t home. The creatures, well people, he reminded himself, came in all shapes and sizes. There were male and female humans along with a strange collection of others. _Its World of Warcraft come to life_ he thought as he and The Doctor threaded their way through the crowd. It was sweltering hot, but here and there were small knots of people who were nearly covered. Andy was jealous of what appeared to be light and flowing robes that these people wore as sweat dripped down his back and his clothes stuck to him. He felt like they were staring at him as if they could see through his clothing, which made him more uncomfortable.

“Why can’t I have one of those?” he hissed in the Doctor’s ear.

“Well the last time I was here, it was much colder.”

“Wait a minute. Didn’t you leave here directly to come get me? How long have we been travelling for?”

The Doctor shrugged off Andy’s concerns, “Well time isn’t exactly linear or all the same time in all of the universes. Its just a big ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey strings. Fascinating really…” The Doctor trailed off in front of a large poster, “Because sometimes it changes when you least expect to.”

The poster was of a large man that Andy could only describe as “distinctly orc like”. He was large and bald with two tusks protruding from his lower lip. Every inch of him was covered in muscle and tattoos as far as anyone could tell. His golden eyes seemed to stare into every inch of the square.

“That is the new king it appears. Well this changes everything…”

Andy took a deep breath to calm himself. There’s no use in getting upset when we’re already here. “How?”

“Another excellent question! The old king, Gunthar, was a real general. Understood strategy and the popular opinion. With him, all you would need to do is flex a bit and state your position and you could get things accomplished. His son, Magthor, here looks to be more of the rule of strength leader, which could make things tricky.”

As they stared at the poster, a hunched figure approached them.

“Please gentlemen, a crust for an old lady’s table. My son has turned me out and there is no food for the poor in this city.”

Andy knelt and looked under the hood into the wizened orc’s eyes, a familiar gold, “Why did your son turn you out, Mother?”

“My son is consumed by his desire for strength and power and the amulet his father left him at death has only made his vices grow stronger. I tried to stop him, to make him see that power is useless without wisdom, that he must honor his father’s wishes. Instead of listening, he had me thrown bodily from our home and I am reduced to begging.”

At that moment two fully armored and what appeared to be guards came around the corner and grabbed the old orc woman and began beating her and dragging her away.

Before he could react, The Doctor grabbed Andy and spun him around.

“Rule number one about being with me: We want to help everyone, but sometimes time has set moments that we cannot interfere with. If you rescue her now, you will not save her in the long term.”

Andy opened his mouth to interject but was interrupted again.

“Are you here to see his Majesty compete in the arena?” came a gruff voice from the left.

The two men turned to see another large orc standing next to them. This one was wearing a breastplate and helmet and carried no noticeable weapons. His bare arms however were covered in tattoos of what appeared to be a great snarling beast. The edges glowed faintly and Andy swore he could see the eyes shifting back between the Doctor and himself.

“Yes!” replied the Doctor quickly, “We have an audience scheduled with his Majesty.”

“His Majesty does not hold audiences, only combats. Come.”

The pit of Andy’s stomach dropped out. “I’m not going to have to fight him am I?” he whispered in the Doctor’s ear as they followed the guard.

“It’s a distinct possibility it seems. But don’t you worry, you’ll do just fine!”

The guard marched them through a large stone arch and they emerged, blinking, on the other side to the roar of the crowd. Andy had never heard a crowd this riled up and violent before and it made him uneasy. He tugged at the collar of the turtleneck and the Doctor grabbed his hand away.

“No sudden movements,” he whispered as the large orc strode toward them.

He was nearly eight feet tall and only wearing a knee length loincloth. There was a long cord running from his neck to the hip of his cloth. His legs and arms were made of corded muscle and covered in tattoos. This time Andy was certain that the tattoos were moving underneath the skin as a bear wrapped around one bicep and down the forearm growling at the two of them. The skin on Andy’s throat began to tickle.

“I am the Doctor of Gallifrey and this is the scribbled on man of Earth. We are here to collect the Derrim of the Milvar system as noted in the Accords of Selim, which your predecessor signed, Your Majesty.”

Magthor laughed a guttural sound that sent ice down Andy’s spine. “I have heard of you, Doctor of Gallifrey. You fled your people at their greatest need and shirked the glory of war. The Earth man is meaningless to me. As for your precious trinket,” he pulled at the cord and showed them a whirring, clicking amulet,” my sire was a foolish man to want to give this away. I spit on his grave with contempt.” The crowd howled again.

Andy growled deep in his throat. He wanted nothing more than to rip the amulet out of Magthor’s hand and punch him in the face.

“OwowowowOW!” the Doctor yanked his hand out of Andy’s and flapped out his swollen fingers. He smirked as Andy strode across the dusty center. Everything was back on track.

Andy ripped off all of the constraining clothing the Doctor had made him wear until he was just in his own shorts. His chest heaved with each breath from a combination of the heat and his anger. This anger was something he had worked to channel for years and through a combination of diet, exercise and drumming, he felt under control. He hadn’t been in a fight since junior high when he had punched one of the eight graders for calling him a “Mama’s boy”.

 

_He was frightened when his fist came back to reveal that the bully had a bloody nose._

_“I’m going to get you for that!” he yelled as Andy sprinted out of the school yard and ran as fast as he could home._

_He was in tears when he slammed the front door behind him and he slumped over to catch his breath as the soft squeak of his mother’s shoes came down the hall. Before she could ask what was happening, he flung himself on her and launched into his story._

_“He kept asking why my dad didn’t pick me up from school and why Uncle Todd came to the father/son picnic last year. And I told him to leave me alone and I tried to ignore him all day. But he pushed me and called me ‘Mama’s boy’ and… and I punched him in the nose… and it was all bloody… and I ran away.”_

_She hugged him tighter, “I miss your dad too, little man. And I know that you know that it’s not ok to hit people. But sometimes we meet people that don’t want to be kind or listen to our words and that makes things so much harder. I’m sorry that happened to you. But I think I have something that might make you feel much better.” She took his hand and walked him up to his room. “Close your eyes.”_

_When he opened them, there it was. The drum set from the window of the music store downtown. He stared up at her in wonder. “My baby boy can’t join his first school band without having a way to practice at home, now can he?”_

 

Andy looked up at the still jeering crowd, took a deep breath, held it and released. “I am Andrew Hurley of Earth. I have travelled across time and space to defeat you. We are men of our words, the Doctor and I, and we will make you one of yours.” The crowd was silent now.

Magthor laughed again, “You’re funny, little man, but I suppose I could use the practice!” With that, he threw his arms toward Andy and the beasts leapt from his skin.  
The tingle Andy had been feeling on his throat and chest turned into a fire. He felt himself knocked back and away by an unseen force. When he opened his eyes, there was a giant iridescent cobra, hood fully extended, directly in from of him. The beasts that Magthor had released were snarling on the other side.

 _Master, I will dispatch these creatures for you and we shall acquire the Derrim with ease._ The words floated into Andy’s mind as he touched his throat one more time and understood. _Yes_. The cobra leapt into action, biting one beast in the flank while crushing the other one in its coils.

Magthor was stunned. No opponent had ever survived the first rush and he was even less prepared when Andy charged him. In a flash, the smaller man had flipped the orc onto his back and had ripped off the amulet’s cord. Holding the shining disk, he knelt over Magthor’s chest staring down at him. Over his shoulder, the glittering cobra leered down and the two beasts ran for the relative safety of Magthor’s arms.

“Please, mercy…” came the whispered response.

“How much mercy have you shown?” growled Andy. “Abandon the arena. Listen to your people. I have seen them and they are far more deserving of mercy than you.” He leaned down to whisper in Magthor’s ear. “And any man who abandons his own mother to the mercy of the world is the weakest man of them all. It is her mercy you should beg for.”  
He stood up and looked at the cobra. Return to me. As you wish, Master. There was another flash of light and the cobra was gone. He turned to the see the Doctor waving at him from the door of the TARDIS.

“Hurry up lad! We’re a bit behind schedule now.”

Andy jogged into the box and they took off immediately.

“So what does this thing do?” Andy placed the amulet next to the Doctor’s hand.

“The original intention was to make runes come to life and learn their stroke order in the ancient texts of the Milvar system. Wanting to see how runes attached to living beings would react was a stroke of genius. King Gunthar studied the design to make copies for his most elite soldiers, but kept this one under lock and key as he noted that his prolonged exposure caused him to become irritable and irrational. You saw what it did to his son. I suppose he’s crying on his mother’s lap right now, just like he’s supposed to. Another effect you can see on your skin.”

He held up a mirror. Instead of being simple lines, Andy’s snake was filled in with glittering ink.

“I think you’ll still be able to use him if you want, but I’d be careful.” He touched the snake. “But I think that untapped potential is something you’re used to dealing with.”

The minsters of Milvar were delighted to have their translator back and offered to throw a giant feast.

“Sorely tempted chaps!” laughed the Doctor, “but we must be off!”

“Will you come in and see Patrick? I know he wants to see you again.” Andy asked as they spun back to Earth.

“Do you remember what I said about fixed points in time? This one doesn’t include me. You’d best be ready to jump!”

The TARDIS door flew open and they were hovering above the balcony of the hotel room. It was already light out. Andy jumped and landed on a heartbreaking scene. Patrick was sitting on the floor, sobbing into Andy’s pillow. Pete was leaning in the little hall to the bathroom, hand knotted in his hair, having a very tense conversation on his cellphone. Joe was pacing between the two of them, muttering to himself.

Suddenly Patrick’s head shot up toward the window and he was on his feet, fumbling with the screen door and falling back into Andy’s arms.

“Come back! COME BACK!!!” he screamed. The silver pen was in his hand as he clicked it at the sky.

“Set points in time,” Andy whispered in his ear and he and Patrick slid to the ground. He curled his free hand around Andy’s collar and Andy felt a nearly imperceptible shift as the snake sniffed and nuzzled Patrick’s fingers.

“Oh thank you God! I don’t have to quit weed now!” Joe exclaimed as he leapt onto the porch with Pete on his heels.

Pete caught Andy’s eye and tapped his throat. Andy nodded and passed a look that said I’ll tell you later.

Andy sighed. He was home.


End file.
